Flexibility key for pedigree breeder

Alan Burleigh farms with his grandfather Harold Stubbs just outside Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh. There they run a herd of 30 pedigree suckler cows, the majority of which are Charolais. The shed was designed to make life easier for managing cows and calves as Alan works full-time.

“Do it once and do it right. We are set up now for much easier management of the herd,” according to Alan.

There were no shortcuts taken with this three-bay shed that is nearly as wide as it is long, at 60ft by 45ft. The shed was designed to incorporate a slatted area, cubicles, calf creep and rear passage. The shed measures 16ft high at the eaves and was finished in the middle of August, with cattle being housed in September due to the poor weather.

Eye to the future

The shed was designed with one eye towards the future as all interior fittings, bar the stanchion, can be easily removed if Alan ever wished to use the shed for other purposes or if he wanted to change the enterprise run on the farm. The three pens for cows are 18ft wide and 22ft deep, split between a slatted area of 13ft and 8ft cubicles. Each pen has four cubicles in place. Alan does not see it as an issue having more cows than cubicles as some cows will generally only lie on the slats. Behind each slatted pen is an 11ft deep creep area for calves. Alan uses peat bedding on this area as the light calves mean that it does not have to be changed regularly as it is highly absorbent.

Behind this creep area is a 14ft wide feed passage which also has a 22ft long crush in place. The large passage means that if a diet feeder is ever purchased for the farm, the shed would be suitable to feed at the back also.

All interior gates between pens in the shed are fitted with man escape gates. These allow farmers to move from one pen to another quickly and safely. The original water troughs that were fitted in the calf creep were too high for young calves, so lower troughs were also installed after.

The rear of the shed is fitted with four swinging doors. While it would have been safer to install sliding doors, this was not an option so latches are in place to bolt doors when they are open. These doors allow calves access to pasture during the shoulders of the year, while also being used to increase air flow in the shed.

Costs

The total cost of the shed came to approximately £50,000 and was not grant-aided. Teemore Engineering provided and installed all gates, barriers and interior fittings at a total cost of £8,000. The tank and other concrete work cost £16,000, including laying the floor, while the shed cost £15,000 to be supplied and erected. Cubicle beds, electrical works, ground work on the site and the hard-core required made up the remaining £11,000.